Boat Airdopes 800 is compatible with the Boat Hearables app.

The Boat Airdopes 800 was launched in India on May 17 with adaptive EQ and Dolby Audio compatible audio. The earphones are equipped with 10mm titanium drivers, ENC-enabled microphone, and IPX5 rating for splash and sweat resistance. They also support the Boat Hearables app available for both Android and iOS smartphones, which allows users to customize touch controls and equalizer settings . The truly wireless (TWS) earphones are said to offer up to 40 hours of battery life. I have been using the Boat Airdopes 800 for over a week now and I want to talk about how “amazing” this budget product is and isn’t.

Boat Airdopes 800 Review: Design and Features

The in-ear truly wireless Boat Airdopes 800 comes with three silicone ear tips: small, medium, and large. I was a little disappointed that none of the sizes fit me comfortably, but the small size felt the best. Of course, best is a very generous way of saying it. The medium tips should work better in theory, but every time I grinned even a little during the opening of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the earbuds would pop out and the in-ear detection would pause the show. I know by now that the in-ear detection works well, but more on that later. I mostly stuck to the small tips because I like to keep the earbuds in my ears in my everyday life.

The Boat Airdopes 800 is IPX5 rated for splash and sweat resistance.

No matter which tip size you choose, the fit of the Boat Airdopes 800 isn’t the best. The longest I used them was during my (re)watching of Arrival (2016), about two hours to be exact – one hour and 56 minutes. More on this later, but while the sound experience was vivid , the dull ache on the outside of my ears was equally vivid.

But apart from the fit, there is a lot to like about these TWS earphones. The stems have a slightly curved, protruding design that provides a better grip when putting the earphones on and taking them off. The touch control sensor is placed on the top and the operation is generally smooth. The charging points of the earphones, located inside the stems, come into direct contact with the skin. I did not suffer from any skin irritation or rashes, but those with sensitive skin or metal allergies may face issues.

The charging case for the Boat Airdopes 800 is bulky. The case together with the earphones weighs 45g, which is not unusually heavy for TWS earphones, but the boxy design makes it look bulkier than it actually is. You can carry it in your jeans pocket if you don’t mind a noticeable protrusion. The bottom of the case has indicator lights that show the earphones’ connection status and battery/charging status. The USB Type-C charging port is located on the right edge of the case. The cover is engraved with the Boat logo and Dolby Audio branding.

In addition to the earbuds with a charging case and two extra pairs of ear tips, the Boat Airdopes 800 sales box also contains a USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable, information/instructions, and a few stickers.

Boat Airdopes 800 Review: Apps and Specifications

As mentioned above, the Boat Airdopes 800 are compatible with the Boat Hearables app . Once paired with your smartphone, the app will sync with the earbuds and display the battery levels of the left and right earbuds on the home page. Further down, there’s a list of different pre-installed equalizer settings, as well as the option to select an adaptive EQ option. This is powered by Mimi, which is also featured on the Nothing Ear (review) and Nothing Ear 2.

The Adaptive EQ is said to provide users with a personalized sound experience. To set up the Adaptive EQ on Boat Airdopes 800, you need to click on the “Set Adaptive EQ” option . This will take you through a practice round and a step-by-step test which you can easily follow by following the on-screen instructions. Once the setup is complete, you can turn on the Adaptive EQ mode to experience your own customized sound.

There are five options for preset equalization: Balanced, Pop, Rock, Jazz, and Club. You can also switch between Dolby Movie and Dolby Natural settings. In the following sections, we’ll take a closer look at the sound experience of each of these modes.

The second tab within the Boat Hearables app lets you select 1-tap and 2-tap functions separately for the left and right earbuds. These allow for four completely different actions, but I chose to use the same actions on both sides because it’s just easier. You can choose from functions like play/pause, volume control (up/down), change track (next/previous), as well as manage Beast Mode and Google Assistant.

The third tab, “System,” gives you access to the Boat Airdopes 800’s user manual and a section that helps you check for the latest version of the Boat Hearables app. This tab also lets you choose whether to turn on or off the in-ear detection feature and the multipoint connection option.

The Boat Airdopes 800 comes with a 35mAh battery in each earbud.

The Boat Airdopes 800 features 10mm titanium drivers and four AI-backed ENC-enabled microphones . Each earbud has a 35mAh battery, while the charging case has a 400mAh battery. It supports Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity and 50ms low latency. The storage case has a USB Type-C charging port, and the earbuds are IPX5 rated for splash and sweat resistance.

Boat Airdopes 800 Review: Performance and Battery Life

The Boat Airdopes 800 pairs seamlessly with two devices (in this case, a Redmi Note 11 Pro smartphone and a Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 laptop). Bluetooth connectivity and a low latency of 50ms make these earphones a good choice for occasional gamers and those who enjoy full-time audiovisual content like me. Low latency or Beast mode can be toggled on/off by pressing and holding the touch control area on the right earbud for 3 seconds.

However, I did encounter some connectivity issues. When switching between the various preset EQ modes, the app would sometimes hang or fail to recognize the earbuds, prompting me to connect to a Bluetooth device to complete the action. Selecting the Adaptive EQ mode would sometimes cause both or just one side of the earbuds to disconnect. The easy fix for these errors was to place the earbuds back in the case for a few seconds and then reconnect.

The connection error when changing the equalization mode was quite frequent during the first few days of using the Boat Airdopes 800, but with each update of the Boat Hearables app, the frequency of this issue decreased. Apparently, this issue was caused by a bug that was fixed in an OTA update. With the current version (00.00.01.02), I am not experiencing any connection issues at all.

Boat Airdopes 800 Supports Bluetooth 5.3 Connection

The Boat Airdopes 800 sound is as advertised and expected, with strong bass but without any major drawbacks in the mids and treble, especially considering the price range. Listening to music with these earphones is comfortable, even without customizable modes. Battery life is also decent, making them good enough for everyday use.

The Adaptive EQ mode on the Boat Airdopes 800, despite draining the battery, offers a personalized sound experience that I liked in some cases, but not all. When listening to Baba O’Riley by The Who, I preferred the custom equalization offered by the Adaptive EQ mode over the regular sound, especially since you can always reconfigure the settings by running the test again.

Dolby Natural mode introduces an element of spatial audio that is best appreciated in music with stereo tracks. The fine details of the arrangement are particularly prominent in tracks like David Bowie’s Space Oddity and The Beatles’ Abbey Road Super Deluxe mix. If you’re as much of a Beatles fan as I am, you might imagine the various postures the Fab Four took in the recording room at Abbey Road Studios as the song Oh! Darling plays. This is more than you’d expect from a pair of TWS earphones priced under Rs 2,000.

As mentioned earlier, I watched Denis Villeneuve’s 2016 feature film Arrival with the Boat Airdopes 800 earphones. Apart from Bradford Young’s awe-inspiring cinematography, I would argue that Johann Johansson’s music makes this one of the best sci-fi movies of recent times. I didn’t have high expectations of the movie, as I’ve watched it on multiple occasions over the years on various mobile phones and PCs since seeing it at its second screening on the first day in theaters many years ago. I was pleasantly surprised by the experience the earphones’ Dolby Movie Audio mode delivered. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was a theater-like experience, but it was close enough for the price range that it was a great experience.

The sound experience in the preset modes is pretty much what you’d expect: the Rock and Club options have more bass emphasis than the other options, the Balanced mode offers solid equalization for sure, and the Jazz and Pop presets have a bit more emphasis on vocals and treble.

The Boat Airdopes 800 have a charging point inside the earbud stem.

Making and answering calls was satisfactory on the Boat Airdopes 800. In an indoor environment with a stable network connection, calls were clear and there were no audio complaints from the other end despite occasional environmental disturbances.

The Boat Airdopes 800 is said to deliver up to 40 hours of battery life at 60 percent volume. For testing purposes, I maintained that volume throughout. With no Adaptive EQ mode turned on and using Dolby Movie Audio mode for a few hours, I got about 36 hours of total playback time on a single charge. The earbuds lasted up to 4+ hours.

With the Adaptive EQ mode on, the Boat Airdopes 800 earbuds can provide up to three and a half hours of playback at a time. It took about 30 minutes to charge the earbuds from 0 to 100 in the case, while the charging case was fully charged in an hour and a half.

Boat Airdopes 800 Review: Verdict

As a casual user, if you are looking for something that will give you a theatre-like experience on a budget, you may want to consider the Boat Airdopes 800 TWS earphones. The Adaptive EQ provides a favorable audio experience, while the Dolby Audio support gives the overall sound performance the spice it needs to stand out among the competition.

If you’re on a budget and looking for a decent, personalized sound experience, the Boat Airdopes 800 at Rs 1,799 is a great fit. The physical fit of the earbuds isn’t the most comfortable, but it’s good enough for hours of use at a time, with 10- or 20-minute breaks in between. You should also consider whether switching between different sound and equalizer modes is seamless. If it works smoothly, you’re good to go, but if not, make sure you have a case ready so you can quickly reconnect your device.

You should also check out the OnePlus Nord Buds 2r ( review ), which is currently selling for Rs 1,899 in India, Rs 100 more, with larger 12.4mm drivers, an IP55 rating, and a lightweight case. You might also consider the CMF Buds, which are priced at a slightly higher Rs 1,999, with a comfortable fit and Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) support of up to 42dB.

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Smartphone brands entering the accessories space is not a new thing, and many such as Xiaomi, Oppo, OnePlus, Samsung, and Apple have established product ranges in the true wireless audio segment. The latest to give it a shot is Poco, which operates in India as a sub-brand of Xiaomi, and has been a noteworthy player in the mid-range smartphone segment. The company’s first audio product is firmly an entry-level offering.

Priced at Rs. 1,199 in India, the Poco Pods true wireless earphones isn’t too complex or feature-rich, but they don’t cost a lot either. This headset is as basic as it gets, but perhaps that’s exactly what some might need. Find out if the Poco Pods is indeed worth the price, and if it’s the best affordable true wireless headset you can buy right now.

The Poco Pods have a proper in-canal fit with good noise isolation, and a decently-sized charging case

Poco Pods design, features, and specifications

The Poco Pods headset has what I consider a very generic look and feel (it looks a lot like the Redmi Buds 4 Active), but this isn’t a bad thing. The earpieces are light and fairly durable, with a proper in-canal fit and stem design. The headset is available in a single black-and-yellow colour option — Poco’s signature colour scheme. If that wasn’t enough, the large Poco logo on the front of the all-black charging case sufficiently makes the point.

The earpieces have touch-sensitive areas for controls, but the lack of app support on the Poco Pods means that the controls are fixed and non-customisable. A double-tap gesture will let you answer calls or play and pause music, while a triple tap on either side cancel the call or skip to the next track. You can’t skip to the previous track from the earphones; you’ll need the paired smartphone to do that.

A long press on both earpieces simultaneously will activate or disable the low-latency mode. There are a couple of other gestures meant to put the headset into forced pairing mode or factory reset the Poco Pods, but you can simply put the earphones into pairing mode by disconnecting all other connected and paired devices. On the whole, the system functions are fairly easy and uncomplicated, as you’d expect from a true wireless headset which doesn’t have app support.

The charging case has a small indicator light at the bottom, alongside the USB Type-C charging port. The fit on the earpieces is decent, and the Poco Pods come with environmental noise cancellation, which promises better performance on calls. The sales package includes a total of three pairs of silicone ear tips of different sizes, but no charging cable is included in the box.

As mentioned earlier, there is no app support on the Poco Pods, but I wouldn’t go as far as to call this a drawback on a headset in this price range. Fortunately, you do get the basics such as USB Type-C charging, as well as the benefits of features such as environmental noise cancellation and 60ms low-latency for use when gaming.

The Poco Pods is available in just a single colour for now; black and yellow

The Poco Pods headset has 12mm dynamic drivers, and uses Bluetooth 5.3 for connectivity, with support for only the SBC Bluetooth codec — a disappointing spec even at this price. Usefully, either earpiece can be used individually if you like, with the other securely stored in the charging case and not affecting stable connectivity for the earpiece in operation.

Poco Pods performance and battery life

I tend to keep my expectations tempered when it comes to affordable true wireless earphones; you’re paying almost entirely for the form factor here, and saving on paying premiums for the ‘fluff’, so to speak. The Poco Pods largely deliver that straightforward true wireless experience, but the sound quality is perhaps not as good as it could have been, even considering the affordable pricing.

Detailed tuning might be too much to expect here, but the crux of the Poco Pods’ shortcomings can be pinned on its codec limitations. The SBC codec doesn’t quite allow enough bandwidth for the earphones to work with, and this can be heard in the sound quality. It sounds unrefined at times, although it doesn’t reach a point of being unpleasant even at high volumes. It’s listenable considering the price, and useful if you just need earphones to help you tune out your surroundings.

The earpieces of the Poco Pods are light and comfortable, with non-customisable touch controls

 Starting with David Guetta’s Stay (Don’t Go Away), the sound initially sounded alright when the track itself wasn’t pushing too hard, but as the attack picked up, the Poco Pods started to sound a bit muffled. I wouldn’t go as far as to call it muddy or too harsh, and the sound might even appeal to those who enjoy hearing a bit more from the bass frequencies.

Certain genres and types of tracks are admittedly better suited to this kind of tuning and sound, with many of Croatia Squad’s distinctly beat-driven tracks sounding rather enjoyable on the Poco Pods. The progressive and rather straightforward attack of Make Your Move by Croatia Squad was perhaps the best example of how a niche (or genre, in this case) can be found to bring the best out of even affordable wireless earphones. The lack of detail in the track was evident, but matters less with certain tracks and genres such as this.

Call quality is acceptable and workable enough for both indoor and outdoor use; microphone performance is decent in quiet rooms, but suffered a bit outdoors despite the presence of ENC. Low-latency mode didn’t seem to make much of a difference in audio latency on basic mobile games.

Battery life is decent on the Poco Pods, with the earphones running for around five hours on a single charge of the earpieces, and the charging case offering over three full additional charges, for a total run time of around 22-23 hours per charge cycle, which is a bit lower than the claimed time of 30 hours. This is somewhat expected given the lack of features and codec support, but users will obviously find this good enough for practical all-day listening.

Verdict

The Poco Pods true wireless headset delivers largely what you expect from a headset in this price range — nothing more, and nothing less. The earphones are basic, but reasonably well set up for the kind of music that most budget buyers might want to listen to. Don’t expect too much detail, and use these for casual listening, particularly when out and about thanks to the decent passive noise isolation. Battery life is decent as well.

There is plenty of competition in this price segment, but Poco’s first effort in the true wireless audio space is a commendable effort. Perhaps the only real drawback is the lack of support for the AAC Bluetooth codec, but all things considered this is a worthwhile pair of earphones if you have a very tight budget.

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